In just a few days I will hand the reins of the Department of Mathematics to the experienced hands of my colleague Joel Hass. Joel has served as department chair for 4 years (2010-2014). Through a number of leadership functions on campus he also acquired deep knowledge of all aspects of the university organization. I am very grateful he agreed to step back into the department chair role for 2026-27.
We are so excited to have revitalized a graduate chapter of the Association of Women in Mathematics in our Department this year! At my undergraduate institution, both undergraduate and graduate AWM chapters existed and frequently collaborated, but it was also valuable for each group to have its own space and events tailored to their experiences and needs. After talking with other graduate students at Davis, it quickly became clear that there was a strong interest in creating a similar community here.
Hello, UC Davis Math Department! I spent four years at UC Davis and completed my Ph.D. with Thomas Strohmer on applications of Compressive Sensing (CS) in 2009. Due to my previous time spent in industry, I was a non-traditional student. This gave me more focus because I basically knew what I was interested in. I had experience in electrical engineering and physics, so CS was a good fit for me. (Fun fact: the Math Dept used to be in Kerr Hall. In my second semester we all moved to the newly constructed MSB!)
As we approach the end of the Spring quarter, let's take a moment to look back over our accomplishments from the past year. During the 2024–2025 academic year, 11 GMAT students completed their Ph.D., and four students were awarded a Master's degree. So far during the current academic year, two GMAT students have received a Ph.D. and four have been awarded a Master's degree, with more expected at the end of the Spring quarter.
This is my first year as GGAM Chair and the first time I have the honor of writing this column. I took over from Javier Arsuaga last summer. Javier did an incredible job moving GGAM forward—many thanks to him—and I am grateful to be able to build on and continue that work.
The last time UC Davis saw me was when graduated in the summer of 2018 with a Ph.D. in Mathematics. My dissertation was in low-dimensional topology under Abby Thompson, focusing on Heegaard splittings of knot complements in the 3-sphere (with additional mentorship of Javier Arsuaga in the application of knot theory to molecular biology, particularly the folding of chromosomes in yeast). Only a few months prior to that, I had accepted an offer to join the faculty at University of the Pacific (UOP) in Stockton, CA, as a tenure-track assistant professor of applied mathematics.
It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of Joshua Sumpter, who obtained his Ph.D. from our Department under the direction of Sasha Soshnikov in 2021. Josh is remembered by his fellow graduate students for his inquiring mind, and as a conscientious teaching assistant and promising colleague by his professors. He had gone on to a postdoc at the University of Rochester. He is survived by his wife, Erica.
Josh’s memorial service was May 16 at 11 am with a celebration of life to follow at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Cloverdale, CA.
This year our Department once again took part in Picnic Day at UC Davis, bringing a mix of math, creativity, and hands-on fun to visitors of all ages. Our booth drew a steady crowd throughout the day, with families, students, and curious guests stopping by to explore.
UC Davis has had a long history of fostering research for all it's members and students. It's always important to revisit and adjust programs over time, and now a greater focus is being directed once again at undergraduate opportunities.
Gentle reader, you are reading the second issue of our new quarterly newsletter! As you may have noticed, the format of our newsletter has changed. We have retired our annual printed newsletter and hope you are enjoying our new digital quarterly newsletter. We encourage you to comment and make suggestions, especially since we are still working on the format of the digital newsletter and eager to improve.
It has been another busy year for our undergraduate mathematics programs, with many exciting changes on the horizon. This year, our Undergraduate Program Committee is leading teams of faculty members in a review of all four of our majors – Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Analytics and Operations Research, and Scientific Computation – with a view towards modernizing and improving what our current programs offer. The intent is to both add breadth to our current course offering, and to add support to mathematics students in the form of discussions across all of our classes.
We mourn the passing of our colleague Craig Tracy.
Craig Tracy was an American mathematician known for his contributions to mathematical physics and probability theory. Born in 1945 in England to a British mother and an American father, Craig was raised on a farm in Missouri. After obtaining a B.Sc. in Physics from University of Missouri (1967), he studied at Stony Brook University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Physics with the thesis Spin-Spin Scale-Functions in the Ising and XY-Models (1973), advised by Barry M. McCoy.
Wein and Iyer's NSF CAREER awards. Krener recognized with Quazza Medal. Shkoller and Fraas speak at ICMP 2024. Jacob et al win 2024 Frontiers of Science Award. Vazquez elected AAAS Fellow. De Loera, Schilling, and Thomas recognized for teaching and leadership. Xu wins INFORMS award. Casals awarded MCA Prize. Shkoller to lead COMPASS team.
You are reading the first issue of our new quarterly newsletter! We felt the need to communicate with you a bit more frequently. So much happens in a year! The pace of news about Department members and their accomplishments, changes in the ways of doing math (both research and teaching) have accelerated as institutions of higher education are attempting to keep up. We will make room for more and more frequent news from you, dear readers, alumni and friends of Mathematics.
